Ruben Selles Leaves For Hull City, Having Brought Back The Reading Way

Thank you Ruben, and all the best.

Ruben Selles has left his position as manager at Reading Football Club to join Hull City in the Championship. A club statement read:

“Earlier this week, the club received an approach from the Tigers to request permission to speak with Rubén and activate the release terms in his contract. After considering the offer and holding discussions, Rubén has made the difficult decision to accept the opportunity.

“Alongside Rubén, Toby Loveland and James Oliver-Pearce will also depart to join him.”

Where to start? I’m not sure what to say.

I think it’s easy to forget that this time last year many of our the fanbase were labelling him a football-inept PE teacher, an overqualified fitness coach, a man who had only worked at clubs that sound made up. It’s been some journey for the Spaniard.

Selles’ appointment seemed underwhelming. A pre-season trip to his homeland coincided with his arrival in Berkshire on June 26 2023. The club announced his appointment with only a two-sentence long introduction and, later, when his work visa was approved, Selles was officially announced as Reading manager in mid-July.

Following this, a successful transfer window - which included the signings of 12 first-team players and three more on loan - had Reading fans finally having some hope again. The Selles era had begun.

However, it wasn’t long before things started to go wrong. An alleged changing-room bust-up after Port Vale away rendered numerous first-team players surplus to requirement at the club, and a day later we had three points deducted, making it four in total for the season.

We saw our first sight of proper Sellesball when we welcomed Cheltenham Town. He made seven changes to the starting XI from our loss at Vale Park, and we won 1-0 with what was essentially a team of kids.

But the positive results remained few and far between, and fans reached breaking point at Shrewsbury Town. Reading threw away a 2-0 lead to lose in the dying embers, Sam Hutchinson slagged off the young players on BBC Berks and an irate travelling contingent more than gave the players a piece of their mind post-match.

At any normal club, that would have spelled the end for Selles. Bottom of the table, seven points from safety, hadn’t won away for over a year. It can’t go on like this, can it?

Turns out it bloody well couldn’t, as Reading turned up in Wycombe Wanderers’ back yard the very next game and miraculously came away with three points.

As far as turning points go, that day at Adams Park was the spark to our fire, the acorn to our oak tree, the first yank of the cord on the lawnmower, and once we started that form, we just could not stop.

Reading lost only two of their next 15 league games. Femi Azeez, Sam Smith, Harvey Knibbs, Charlie Savage, Lewis Wing and so many more - we were witnessing a team developing and blossoming together against all odds right in front of our very eyes.

Rubén Sellés Salvador was living up to his name, as the Saviour guided us to League One safety.

And this season, he’ll leave us as the second-most in-form team in the league, and in a playoff place.

What’s possibly even more important than the results though was the mentality that he brought to the club. After years of Veljko Paunovic’s “apart from the four goals, we played well”, and “PR Paul Ince” justifying a 5-0 loss away at Middlesbrough by blaming the referee, Selles’ attitude was a true breath of fresh air.

Principally, that was always making time to clap fans at the end of games, an almost unseen level of trust in his players, personal accountability and - most importantly - a no-excuses policy. How easy would it have been to cite a lack of squad depth, the age of players, inexperience or off-field problems as reasons for our failures in defeat?

Or to keep playing the higher-profile players such as Andy Carroll, Tom Holmes, Andy Yiadom, Tom McIntyre and Sam Hutchinson every game? Or simply to sack it all off and resign?

And we haven’t even got into how he transformed us on the pitch yet. From a mismatched group of players whose only game plan was to hoof it up to big Andy up top and hope he did something, we have become one of the most attractive and effective sides to watch in the EFL under Selles.

Granted, the 4-2-2-2 at the beginning was a big mistake, but when you aren’t the most stubborn manager in the world, like the one who preceded him was, it was actually fairly easy to change.

A modern 4-2-3-1 formation, flying full-backs, inverting midfielders, rapid wingers, ball-playing centre-backs and an all-round striker, and of course that famous press. Don’t underestimate the value of having a settled starting XI either.

What’s more, it’s all from using players from the academy, on frees or on loan.

And of course, the youthfulness of the squad. There are seldom places better than Reading at giving teenagers a chance at first team football. And for that, we must appreciate the efforts of all the club’s staff, from top to bottom.

To put it simply, Selles brought back the Reading Way.

Yet now, he’s gone. To Hull City of all places, which is certainly one club that doesn’t know the meaning of patience and loyalty.

Liam Rosenior was sacked in the summer on “good terms”, with controversial chairman and Turkish entrepreneur Acun Ilicali making the decision due to a difference in their “footballing philosophy”. Ilicali is believed to have clashed with Rosenior on multiple occasions, particularly regarding team selection and style of play, despite the Englishman being relatively successful during his time at the helm.

German coach Tim Walter was his replacement, who lasted only 18 games and left Hull in the relegation spots.

The Yorkshire club’s transfer dealings since Ilicali’s arrival in 2022 have also been generally poor, failing to fully cash in on key assets like Jacob Greaves and Jaden Philogene, and buying seemingly whoever took the chairman’s fancy, which was often from the Turkish league.

For Selles though, it seems a no-brainer. He will be greeted with a massive pay rise, a decent-length contract, and obviously the knowledge that the club probably won’t liquidate at any given moment. It’s also about the step up from League One to the Championship, and of course, the psychological peace that will come with getting out of this circus.

On the other hand, if he’d have stayed, he’d be working longer in a zero-pressure environment, have fans regard him as the second coming of Christ, and probably get freedom of the town sooner or later.

Seriously though, Selles is the best manager we’ve had for years and, over his time at Reading, we as fans could not have asked for any more from him.

This is an extremely sad day for all connected to Reading Football Club. Our greatest asset has gone. No player departures have ever felt the same as this.

To fans reading this, please savour those memories that Selles gave us. That win at Wycombe, demolishing Carlisle United away, final-day victory hosting Blackpool, and his ecstatic outburst after the 2-0 win against Bristol Rovers. But remember Shrewsbury away too, the last-minute loss at home to Fleetwood Town and the Eastleigh debacle - for the incredible journey this man has taken us on.

Most of all, never forget the feelings of walking into a stadium to see Ruben Selles’ Reading play. The joy, the anticipation and those magical winning moments with friends and family may not come around again too often.

I wish Selles and his family the very best for the future.

Gracias y adios Ruben.

Thank you and goodbye Ruben.